civilization collapse

joseph tainter in his 1988 classic "the collapse of complex societies" discusses, who mayan society, in the absence of large standing armies, may have used monumental architecture as a deterrent. monumental architecture meaning the pyramids. in modern day terms, the nuclear weapon stockpiles save similar purposes. demonstrations of awesome power, which consumed vast amounts of elite resources with no economic benefit, with the sole purpose to frighten and intimidate the enemy from attacking and causing an economically ruinous war.

i am obsessed with showing how current events are mirroring past civilisation collapses specifically how the american empire is following the joseph tainter's law - collapse follows when continued investment in complexity yields ever declining returns to the point that investment in complexity yields negative returns and collapse inevitably follows. declining returns - where increased investment is required to maintain the status quo, or increased investment is required to get LESS - where investments by elites impoverish the peasantry here's a list of investments the american empire has made / is making with declining returns - in no order at the moment: - sarbanes oxley - prevent stock holder accounting fraud aka enron -- are investors provably safer? NOT - tsa - air port security - prevent another 911 -- are passengers provably safer? NOT - the american embassy in baghdad - monumental architecture at it's finest -- are consumers paying less at the pump? NOT - the bank ba

The name says is it all. Stimulate the economy by generating revenue from the regulation of sexual services and previously prohibited agricultural and pharmaceutical products. At the moment, the prohibition of these products is great EXPENSE, draining vast sums of public money into an entreprise with NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT. By generating income from regulating these industries, these industries no longer become EXPENSE industries, they become INCOME industries, enabling the government to INCREASE spending on justice, health and education.

from Joseph A. Tainter's "The Collpase of Complex Societies" the 11 major themes in the explanation of collapse: 1. depletion or cessation of a vital resources or resources on which the society depends 2. the establishment of a new resource base 3. the occurrence of some insurmountable catastrophe 4. insufficient response to circumstances (deadly lack of experience?) 5. other complex societies 6. intruders 7. class conflict, societal contradictions, elite mismanagement or misbehaviour 8. social dysfunction 9. mystical factors 10. chance concatenation of events 11. economic factors is it possible that our civilisation meets these criteria? 1. depletion or cessation of a vital resources or resources on which the society depends YES Water, oil, soil, and fish are all severely depleted to the point of collapse. 2. the establishment of a new resource base MAYBE Coal, nuclear, solar, and geothermal represent new resources bases. 3. the occurrence of some insurmountable catastro

1. why have complex societies formed? 2. why have complex societies formed only in the past 10,000 years? 3. the genus homo has been around for 2.5 million years - but only recently formed complexity - why? 4. could it be that one time special environmental conditions allowed unprecendented ecosystem exploitation first through hunting in the ice age, and then farming? 5. could it be that a passing environmental "sweet spot" allowed the genus homo to flourish - and that once the unusual weather has passed - the genus homo will find it difficult once again?